Washing machine



Feb. 22, 1944. G. c. FIELDS` V 2,342,135

WASHING MACHINE Filed Jan. 5, 1942 s sheets-sheeti f Y INVENTOR.

650;?65 c. F/f-DS' BYdM/f maja A frozen/EY Feb. 22, 1944. G. c. FIELDS 2,342,185

' WASHING MACHINE Filed Jan. 3. 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 @farai c. FvfzDs BY W4/7m Z3 Arrazewgy A Patented Febn 229 iff Euclid, Ghia, assignor to The Alpen Electrical Manufacturing Company, ileveland, Unida corporation oi Ohio Application January 3, i942, Serial No. 425,537

3 Claims.

This invention relates to washing machines and now particularly to a timer indicating apparatus for a washing machine.

Itis among the objects oi my invention to provide an indicator device which is adapted for use in conjunction with a washing machine timer whereby the setting of the time and the time elapsed involved in the washing operation is shown to the user of the machine.

More speciiically it is an object of my invention to provide a time indi-cia dial device adapted to be mounted on the frame of the Washing machine and which is curved to conform to the curve of the washing machine frame and which is provided with an indicatm` showing the status oi a timer throughout its cycle o operation.

1t is a further object of my invention to provide an illuminated dial apparatus adapted to be used in connection' with a timer for a washing ma. chine such as that shownand claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 392,722.

Itis a further object or my invention to provide a washing machine having a curved tub frame with a curved indicia bearing element and a movable indicator showing the time status o the timer withwhich thedevice is used.

Additional objects oi the invention relating to simplicity in lconstruction, smoothness of operation and economies'in manufacture `will appear from the description and the appended drawings inwhich:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a washing may in the period during which they are washed and chine provided with an indicator device made accordlng to my invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan view with parts in section of the indicator device as mounted on the 'tub frame and connected tothe washer timer; Figure 3 is a, sectional view taken as indicated on line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view on line t--d of Figure 2; l

Figure 5 is an elevation taken as indicated in the plane 5 5 oi Figure 2;

Figure is a sectional view taken as indicated at B--t of Figure 5; and

Figure 'l is an elevation with parts in section taken as indicated on piane 'l-l or Figure 6^'.

Recent improvements. in timer apparatus for/ washing machines have resulted in the general acceptance and wide current use of a timer device for a washing machine which will stop the operation of the washing machine agitator at the end oi a predetermined period of time. It is generally recognized that various' garments presenting various conditions of soil require variations taken vasV indicated to eliminate the human element which might bring about an error in washing time, mechanical timers to accurately control the washing period present a number of advantages.

- According to the present invention, I have provided a dial or indicia device which is curved to conform to the contour of -the washing machine tub frame and a movable pointer which is adapted to be carried along the dial to give the operator a visibledisclosure of the status of the timer in its operating cycle.

In Figure 1 a washing machine is indicated in its entirety as at 5 and comprises a tub frame t supported by legs l, a tub t and a wringer assem bly t. As will be understood by reference to my said copending application, the mechanical timer there disclosed is designed to interrupt the operation of the agitator within the tub t without affecting the continued operation of the wringer assembly 9. The tub frame 'r3 is provided with a manual control knob It which is attached to a shaft l l, which is in turn connected by universal joint l2 to shaft i3. The shaft i3 extends inwardly of the tub frame to a timer mechanism, such as that shown in my said co-pending application and manipulation of the knob lil by the operator permits the setting of the timer for the desired period of operation.

Alongside of the control knob lll, on the exterior of the tub frame t, is mounted a dial body l5 which may be made of any desired cast or molded material and which is preferably curved as shown to conform to the curvature oi the tub frame t. I have found a molded, transparent plastic body to be particularly Well suited to this purpose inasmuch as it eliminates the need for ay separate, transparent window. In the event the body is made of opaque material, a transparent window such as areal is provided so as to make visible a dial Il inside of the transparent area. The dial is preferably secured to the body l5 by screws l (see Fig. 3) and is spaced slightly from the inner wall of the window area so as to accommodate a pointer i9.

A pair of inwardly extending brackets 20 are secured by rivets or the like 2l, at the inner ends of the body l5, which brackets support a pair of spaced, curved tubes 22 and 23. The pointer I9 is slidably supported on the tubes 22 and 23 and comprises a tubular section 2li which surrounds the rod 22 and a pair of downwardly turnedears 25 which embrace the tube 23. The tubes 22 and 23 thus function as a curved 'track to guide the pointer I9 for movement along the dial I1.

'I'he pointer assembly includes an upwardly turned ear 26 which is apertured to receive the end of a tension spring 21 so that the pointer assembly is normally urged to the left hand end of its path of travel as shown in Fig. 2. The under side of the pointer member is provided with a connecting lug 28 which is adapted to be secured to one end of a flexible string or cable member 29 so that the pointer may be `moved along the dial by the string. ,The other end of the string or cable 29 is anchored in the `peripheral groove of a pulley member ll as at 3l and thus the counter-clockwise turning of the control knob I moves the pointer along its pathv against the tension imposed thereon by the spring 21.

The face'of the dial I1 is provided with indicia as shown, illustrating an operating cycle of the timer mechanism. In,the present embodiment the dial'facre shows an operating cycle of fifteen minutes and this cycle is marked off by periods of time corresponding to the character of the garments being washed. For instance, the user of the device is made aware of the fact that work clothes should be washed for fteen minutes, cottons and linens between ve and ten minutes, silks three to ve minutes and woolens for a period less than three minutes. Preferably the indicia includes contrasting colors as shown. Thus the user of the device may place a load of clothes, such as for instance linens, in the machine, turn the knob Il) to bring the pointer to the eight-minute mark on the dial and then leave the machine with lthe assurance that at the expiration of the eight minute period, the agitator operation will be interrupted. At any time during the period, the operator by looking at the dial construction made according to my invention, may observe what portion of the operating time has elapsed, since the construction is such that the pointer progressively 'moves to the zero mark as the timer advances through its cycle.

I prefer to make the dial mem'ber Il? of a translucent material and to mount a light 33 within the dial body so` as to facilitate the reading of the pointer on the dial. The light 33 is supported by a bracket 34 secured as at 35 at the central portion of the body I5. A rubber gasket 32 surrounds the light bulb at its socket portion so as to preclude the unscrewing of the bulb in response to machine vibration. The member 34 carries a reflector 35 on that side of the light remote from the` vtimer dial. This reflector pre. vents illumination of the gear case and other operating parts 'beneath the machine. The mounting of the control knob Ill and shaft il includes a. bracket Mlwhich is mounted for limited swinging movement about the hub il which is secured to the wall of the tub frame 5. The hub v4I has a shoulder 42 to mount the pulley 30 for free rotation on the hub. The inner end of the shaft II is provided with a hub d4 which is connected to the shaft II by meansof a sleeve 45 and a pin 46 arranged as best shown in Fig. 4. The hub 44 carries an axially extending pin 41 which extends into a cam plate d8 (see Fig.

. 2). This insures that thel cam plate 48, shaped as shown in Fig. 7, will be turned by the shaft ll.

As will be understood by reference to my copending application above referred to, one complete revolution, that is 360 degrees of turning movement of thecontrol shaft I3, is required sequent cycle.

to `complete one fifteen-minute cycle of agitator operation plus a resetting of the timer so as to initiate a subsequent cycle of operation. lTherst portion of the 360 degrees, namely something over 300 degrees of shaft movement corresponds to the fifteen-minute cycle indicated on the dial i6 and the balance of the complete revolution is required to reset the timer for its sub- The shaft I3 is operatively connected to a cam which initiates the operation of the agitator of the washing machine whenthe pointer is positioned at the left hand end of the dial such as shown in Fig. 2 and the shaft progressively turns and the pointer advances toward the zero mark as the washing time elapses. It will also be understood by reference to my said copending application that in setting the timer to initiate the washing operation, the pointer may be manually advanced to any point along the dial between the fifteen-minute and the zero mark. At the end of the washing operation the agitator action is interrupted through the timer and it is necessary to manually advance the timer shaft I3 through the balance of its 360 degree movement to effect the resetting of the timer. This resetting of the timer releases the pully 30 through the mechanism hereindesoribed so that the spring 21 is effective to return the pointer to the left hand end of the dial following the resetting of the timer.

A releasable driving connection is provided between the cam plate 48 and the pulley 30 through the medium of a' leaf spring 50 which is anchored to the inner face of the pulley as at 5I (Fig. 7) and which is provided with a curved, flexing outer end 52 adapted to engage the high point on the cam plate 48. Referring particularly to Fig. 7, it will be observed that clockwise movement of the shaft I I turns the cam plate 48 in the direction of the arrow 53 and that the high point of the cam will through the spring member Siliturn the pulley 30 in the direction of the arrow 54. This causes a winding of the string or cable 29'in the groove of the pulley 3B and permits the user of the device to bring the pointer to any desired position along its path of travel in opposition to spring 21.

The wall of the pulley Sil which is adjacent the tub frame 6 is provided with a pair of spaced lugs 55 and 5S. The lug 55 is adapted to strike an outstanding ear 51 carried on the bracket 40 when the pulley has reached the end of its travel in a counter-clockwise direction (Fig. 5) as shown by the arrow 58. This point corresponds to the end of the travel of the pointer along the dial i1. It will be understood that as the dial pointer reaches the zero mark on the dial, the lug 55 is brought into abutment with the ear 51 and further movement of the pulley is thus prevented. Continued turning of the control knob in a counter-clockwise direction causes the leaf spring 5@ to ride upwardly over the high `in response to, the pull of the spring 21 through the fiexible cable 29. The movement'of the pulley in its clockwise direction (Fig. 5) is limited by lug 56 coming into engagement with s rubber stop or block member 8B. The bracket 40 has an upturned end "a which restrains the end 52 of the leaf spring from movement in a clockwise direction as the cam 48 moves through the reset period and thus the pointer is not permitted to assume a position at the fifteen minute mark on -the dialuntil'the reset of the timer is completed. When the leaf spring 50 is on the low area of the cam plate 48 as shown in Figs. and 7, the end 52 travels in a radius which is less than the radius to the upturned end of the portion 40a. When, however, during Ythe reset period the leaf spring is forced to ride on the high area of the cam plate 48, the end 52 is brought into the path of the upturned end 40a and is thus restrained from movement during the reset.

The tub frame 6 is preferablyl slotted as at 6A and a locking stud 62 extends through this slot into threaded engagement vwith the bracket 40. This permits `a bodily adjusting movement of the bracket 40 to compensate for any variations which may occur in the manufacture of the assembly. A coil spring 83 is inserted between the knob I Il and the boss 4I about the shaft II, which spring maintains the assembly of a cam plate and pulley insnug driving relation. It will be appreciated that a clockwise turning of the control knob- III will force the pin I6 out of its recess in the shaft II (see Fig. 4). Thus, only counter-clockwise motion of the knob III is effective to move the pointer I9 and the timer shaft I3.

Referring generally to the operation of the device, the user of the machine places a load of clothes in the tub and by turning the knob I0 in a counter-clockwise direction `(Figs. 1 and 5) brings the parts into the relation shown in Fig. 5, whereby the pulley 30 is turned and the pointer I9 is brought into desired position on the dial I1. This movement of the knob starts the timer in operation and starts the progressive advance in a counter-clockwise direction of the shaft Il. 'I'his turning of the shaft I3 continues through the cycle of the timer operation and at the conclusion of the timer cycle, the agitator operation is interrupted and the machine is ready for the removal oi' the washed clothes and a repetition of the time selection and timer cycle operation.

Although I have shown and described one form of my invention in considerable detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous modications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the appended claims. A

Having thus described my invention. what I claimis: v

LAwashingmachinehavingacirculartub frame adjacent said dial body, a manually opere able knob on said ccontrol shaft, said shaft being mounted for rotational movement in the frame, a pulley coaxial with said shaft, a timer driven member coaxial with said shaft and a unidirectional clutch connecting said member and pulley, and flexible means operatively connecting said pointer and pulley to move the pointer in response to shaft rotation in one direction and means to move said pointer in an opposite direction Vsubsequent to a predetermined shaft rotation in said one direction.

2. A timer control indicator for a washing machine comprising a tub frame, a boss secured to. s aid frame, a shaft rotatably mountedin said boss, a control knob secured to said shaft onthe outer end thereof and a hub secured to the inner end of said shaft, the connection between said hub and shaft including a unidirectional clutch whereby knob rotation in one direction is eiective to turn said hub, and'knob rotation in an opposite direction is ineffective to turn said hub, a dial mounted on said tub frame including a pointer, means comprising a pulley and exible tension member operatively connecting said pointer and said hub to move said pointer toward one end of the dial in response to knob rotation in said first mentioned direction and means to move said pointer toward the other end of the dial subsequent to a predetermined travel thereof toward said one end of the dial. Y

3. xA timer control indicator for a washing machine comprising a, washing machine tub frame, a boss secured to said frame, a shaft rotatably mounted in said boss provided with a manually operated knob on the exterior of the tub frame, a member mounted for rotation on said boss within tub frame, a unidirectional clutch operatively connecting said shaft to said member, a dial body including a dial having indicia thereon, a pointer mounted 'to move with respect `to said dial and means operatively connecting said member and pointer to move the pointer in one direction with respect to the dial upon shaft rotation in one direction and means to move said pointer'in an opposite direction subsequent to a predetermined travel thereof in said one direction.

GEORGE C. FIELDS. 

